Argentine Malbecs – slowly increasing refinement

Image

See Travels in Argentina – the guide.

It may dominate our perception of Argentine wine, but Malbec represents only about 16% of all the country’s vines. Argentine Malbec was for some years a huge hit in the US, offering big, bold flavours for a fraction of the price of a Napa Valley Cabernet. Argentina is still the fourth most important exporter of wine to the US, but sales have stagnated recently. Perhaps Argentina has suffered from a general (and irrational?) feeling that the whole of the southern hemisphere is out of fashion.

However it was noticeable from our tasting...